Should we medicate our teen daughter for anxiety

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take this with a grain of salt as I have two neurotypical teens.

If your daughter had a physical illness and all your home remedies weren't curing that physical illness, wouldn't your next step be to take her to the doctor and get a medication to alleviate the symptoms/make it better?

Couldn't the same be said of a mental illness such as anxiety? If your daughter was physically sick and no homeopathic treatments were working, it would be common sense to give her medicine. Why the hesitation when treating a mental illness?

Good luck.

Yes! this is what I was going to say. I have two young adults with anxiety and it has helped tremendously

But the OP hasn’t tried anything but therapy

What is your point, pp?

The point is an SSRI with a lot of side effects isn’t the first line of defense. Big pharm is over-medicating kids that just need better nutrition, sleep, and supplements. It takes 1-3 months, but it helps about 70% of kids/teens. Most parents just want the easy way out.

And many studies show that SSRI’s may actually INCREASE suicide tendencies in kids under 18. That is one of many side effects. Why risk that initially?

Would you say the same thing if their child is sick? My grandfather died due to lack of antibodics. Medication can work along with therapy etc.

Yes overuse of antibiotics has led to problems like MRSA and stunted immune systems.

Antibiotics are the last resort

EXACTLY!!

My DD went to a psychiatrist and was there for 25min before they were writing a script for Zoloft. Like it’s that easy? No thanks. Moved to a teen therapist, made recommended diet changes, added Magnesium, L Theanine, Vit D, EPA, Ashwa, Multi Vit and saw changes in a week.

That was 14 months ago.

Meds are needed for some, but not nearly as many that are on them.

You should also add crystals. I hear they have wonderful healing properties.

These are the same people who think ivermectin cures COVID.

My neurologist told me to give DD magnesium and vit B for her migraines rather than medicating. I suppose you think he also believes in crystals and ivermectin cures covid.

I’m sure all of these “diet and lifestyle changes = crystals” folks can explain exactly how SSRI’s work, don’t worry. That’s why they know the scientific way to get on meds is for doctors to prescribe something, in some dose, and then see how you respond and then change either the dose or the medication until they find “what works”. (AKA they don’t actually understand what works when or why… but sure, getting more sleep as step one is just hippy nonsense)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Finally it is worth noting that the same multinational corporations that own the subsidiaries that sell us poisoned processed foods also own subsidiaries that are comprised of pharmaceutical companies. Anyone who doesn’t get the connection between these entities is just not paying attention. CVS stopped selling cigarettes several years ago because they’re a health care company they proclaimed - but when you go there to pick up your pharmaceuticals, you have to walk past aisle after aisle of highly processed edible substances that are not actually food but rather food products. There is a massive difference between real food and food products. CVS and Walgreens and Walmart and all those places are UPF pushers - they have no moral qualms with selling the products that drive obesity and diabetes and chronic sleep deprivation and mental health disorders along with the pharmaceuticals that treat the symptoms but don’t cure anything.

There is no profit motive in curing lifestyle diseases.

There is very low profit motive in selling broccoli, et al.

Make the connection, people.

To me, you seem very zealous. Why do you care if someone takes 10mg of prozac. You sound just as controlling as the pharmaceuticals you despise. Medicine can help. Why make things more difficult?

[Anonymous]

400 mg of magesium glycinate taken at 8 pm really helped me. I'm a 140 pound woman. I have no anxiety during the day.

I'd cut the dose for someone smaller.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take this with a grain of salt as I have two neurotypical teens.

If your daughter had a physical illness and all your home remedies weren't curing that physical illness, wouldn't your next step be to take her to the doctor and get a medication to alleviate the symptoms/make it better?

Couldn't the same be said of a mental illness such as anxiety? If your daughter was physically sick and no homeopathic treatments were working, it would be common sense to give her medicine. Why the hesitation when treating a mental illness?

Good luck.

Yes! this is what I was going to say. I have two young adults with anxiety and it has helped tremendously

But the OP hasn’t tried anything but therapy

What is your point, pp?

The point is an SSRI with a lot of side effects isn’t the first line of defense. Big pharm is over-medicating kids that just need better nutrition, sleep, and supplements. It takes 1-3 months, but it helps about 70% of kids/teens. Most parents just want the easy way out.

And many studies show that SSRI’s may actually INCREASE suicide tendencies in kids under 18. That is one of many side effects. Why risk that initially?

Would you say the same thing if their child is sick? My grandfather died due to lack of antibodics. Medication can work along with therapy etc.

Yes overuse of antibiotics has led to problems like MRSA and stunted immune systems.

Antibiotics are the last resort

EXACTLY!!

My DD went to a psychiatrist and was there for 25min before they were writing a script for Zoloft. Like it’s that easy? No thanks. Moved to a teen therapist, made recommended diet changes, added Magnesium, L Theanine, Vit D, EPA, Ashwa, Multi Vit and saw changes in a week.

That was 14 months ago.

Meds are needed for some, but not nearly as many that are on them.

You should also add crystals. I hear they have wonderful healing properties.

These are the same people who think ivermectin cures COVID.

So when my ob/gyn said to do chamomile tea with cinnamon and ginger for bad PMS cramps, I should have asked for oxycodone instead?

I am a bone marrow transplant nurse and do you know what works best for nausea in my patients? Not Zofran. Essential oils and acupuncture. Worked every.single.time.

Stop acting like ingesting man-induced chemicals are the only thing that can help a person. It’s scary

Oh god. Essential oils for nausea for cancer patients? This is a joke right?

[Anonymous]

She might be disqualified from any job with .mil as being “mentally unfit.”

[Anonymous]

I was born before people talked about possible treatments for anxiety, and my parents couldn't have afforded much anyway, but as an adult I finally felt better after starting sertraline. The general dread and deep confidence shortfall despite lots of success has ebbed away and I notice the dread seeping back in by midafternoon if I have forgotten to take it. It reduces my already minimal sex drive for the 24 hours after each 50 mg pill but other than that zero ill effects. I recommend it if she wants relief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take this with a grain of salt as I have two neurotypical teens.

If your daughter had a physical illness and all your home remedies weren't curing that physical illness, wouldn't your next step be to take her to the doctor and get a medication to alleviate the symptoms/make it better?

Couldn't the same be said of a mental illness such as anxiety? If your daughter was physically sick and no homeopathic treatments were working, it would be common sense to give her medicine. Why the hesitation when treating a mental illness?

Good luck.

Yes! this is what I was going to say. I have two young adults with anxiety and it has helped tremendously

But the OP hasn’t tried anything but therapy

What is your point, pp?

The point is an SSRI with a lot of side effects isn’t the first line of defense. Big pharm is over-medicating kids that just need better nutrition, sleep, and supplements. It takes 1-3 months, but it helps about 70% of kids/teens. Most parents just want the easy way out.

And many studies show that SSRI’s may actually INCREASE suicide tendencies in kids under 18. That is one of many side effects. Why risk that initially?

Would you say the same thing if their child is sick? My grandfather died due to lack of antibodics. Medication can work along with therapy etc.

Yes overuse of antibiotics has led to problems like MRSA and stunted immune systems.

Antibiotics are the last resort

EXACTLY!!

My DD went to a psychiatrist and was there for 25min before they were writing a script for Zoloft. Like it’s that easy? No thanks. Moved to a teen therapist, made recommended diet changes, added Magnesium, L Theanine, Vit D, EPA, Ashwa, Multi Vit and saw changes in a week.

That was 14 months ago.

Meds are needed for some, but not nearly as many that are on them.

You should also add crystals. I hear they have wonderful healing properties.

These are the same people who think ivermectin cures COVID.

Ivermectin people and crystal people are completely different categories of weirdo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take this with a grain of salt as I have two neurotypical teens.

If your daughter had a physical illness and all your home remedies weren't curing that physical illness, wouldn't your next step be to take her to the doctor and get a medication to alleviate the symptoms/make it better?

Couldn't the same be said of a mental illness such as anxiety? If your daughter was physically sick and no homeopathic treatments were working, it would be common sense to give her medicine. Why the hesitation when treating a mental illness?

Good luck.

Yes! this is what I was going to say. I have two young adults with anxiety and it has helped tremendously

But the OP hasn’t tried anything but therapy

What is your point, pp?

The point is an SSRI with a lot of side effects isn’t the first line of defense. Big pharm is over-medicating kids that just need better nutrition, sleep, and supplements. It takes 1-3 months, but it helps about 70% of kids/teens. Most parents just want the easy way out.

And many studies show that SSRI’s may actually INCREASE suicide tendencies in kids under 18. That is one of many side effects. Why risk that initially?

Would you say the same thing if their child is sick? My grandfather died due to lack of antibodics. Medication can work along with therapy etc.

Yes overuse of antibiotics has led to problems like MRSA and stunted immune systems.

Antibiotics are the last resort

EXACTLY!!

My DD went to a psychiatrist and was there for 25min before they were writing a script for Zoloft. Like it’s that easy? No thanks. Moved to a teen therapist, made recommended diet changes, added Magnesium, L Theanine, Vit D, EPA, Ashwa, Multi Vit and saw changes in a week.

That was 14 months ago.

Meds are needed for some, but not nearly as many that are on them.

You should also add crystals. I hear they have wonderful healing properties.

These are the same people who think ivermectin cures COVID.

So when my ob/gyn said to do chamomile tea with cinnamon and ginger for bad PMS cramps, I should have asked for oxycodone instead?

I am a bone marrow transplant nurse and do you know what works best for nausea in my patients? Not Zofran. Essential oils and acupuncture. Worked every.single.time.

Stop acting like ingesting man-induced chemicals are the only thing that can help a person. It’s scary

Oh god. Essential oils for nausea for cancer patients? This is a joke right?

NP - I work in NIH and our patients would get acupuncture, meditation, and have ginger or peppermint oils at the bedside to smell at the onset of nausea.

Can you tell me what’s a joke? Do you think only only pills work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is the thing op and something I did. Teens with severe anxiety are lambs in school and outside of home, but at home they are basically the worst terrorist to their loved ones.
You are the punching bag they need. However, you sit her down and say, "You are being abusive to us because you do not want to treat your anxiety. We understand why you are doing it, but being abusive is not ok, ever. We cannot live in the house with a person that is abusing us all the time. You either get treated, or you find another living situation. We are happy to schedule all the appointments and evaluations and pay for therapy and meds."

The part about another house might be over the top, but I said it to my then 17-year-old when he was physical with me and his sister. I was ready to follow through too, I would have paid for the hotel or Airbnb for a few days.

You would tell your severely anxious teen that you would kick them out? DCUM never fails to shock me. Worst advice ever!!!

Oh yes, I did. Call me when you 17-year-old athlete starts being physical with you.

No, thanks. I wouldn't call you to watch my cat, much less to give me advice on my kid.

Ok, then, you get hit by your kid and your kid is probably 2. You know it all.

My kid is 15 and he will never hit me because I raised him right. That sounds like a parenting problem and not an anxiety problem.

Congratulations on your NT kid. Some kids need meds to not be violent - I did the best I could with mine, but without medication he's violent. I'm not the PP, but its not always parenting - sometimes its brain chemistry that needs medication and therapy to address.

Please don’t use obnoxious clinical phrases like “neurotypical” when you mean “normal.”

Thanks.

The word neurorypical isnt obnoxious just because you dont like it.

DP it's obnoxious and pretentious no matter who likes it or doesn't like it.

NP. Using correct terminology/vocabulary is never pretentious or obnoxious except to those who are insecure or prefer ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finally it is worth noting that the same multinational corporations that own the subsidiaries that sell us poisoned processed foods also own subsidiaries that are comprised of pharmaceutical companies. Anyone who doesn’t get the connection between these entities is just not paying attention. CVS stopped selling cigarettes several years ago because they’re a health care company they proclaimed - but when you go there to pick up your pharmaceuticals, you have to walk past aisle after aisle of highly processed edible substances that are not actually food but rather food products. There is a massive difference between real food and food products. CVS and Walgreens and Walmart and all those places are UPF pushers - they have no moral qualms with selling the products that drive obesity and diabetes and chronic sleep deprivation and mental health disorders along with the pharmaceuticals that treat the symptoms but don’t cure anything.

There is no profit motive in curing lifestyle diseases.

There is very low profit motive in selling broccoli, et al.

Make the connection, people.

To me, you seem very zealous. Why do you care if someone takes 10mg of prozac. You sound just as controlling as the pharmaceuticals you despise. Medicine can help. Why make things more difficult?

I am very zealous. I spent 30 years taking SSRIs and SNRIs thrown at me by various physicians and psychiatrists and suffering the host of awful side effects including chronic insomnia that worsens mental illness and the weight gain that exacerbates anxiety/depression.

Never once in those 30 years did a single doctor ask me how I’d been sleeping, eating or exercising BEFORE I developed anxiety/depression, nor did they suggest I try exercise, light therapy, clean diet, meditation/breath work to manage anxiety depression - yet even in the 1990s there was already substantial research to suggest that mental illness could be greatly alleviated by these lifestyle changes to manage stress, and thirty years later the clinical and research evidence is overwhelming that the improvement from lifestyle changes used to manage anxiety and depression is equally effective and even more effective over the long term than taking pills that bring a host of very bad side effects which cause most patients to cycle on and off and on and off and suffer endlessly so big Pharma can make a buck.

There are hours of education on pharmaceuticals in medical school. There is not even a days worth of education on the critical ways proper nutrition impacts all aspects of our health from gut biome to brain resilience. Guess who underwrites substantial amounts of the research and education arms of universities that house medical schools?

Do I need to give you the answer, or can you work it out for yourself?

Yes, I’m very angry about three decades wasted on the hamster wheel of anxiety/depression medications. This is not schizophrenia or psychotic bipolar disorder, this is far too common anxiety and depression which is rooted in our lifestyles and can be put into effective remission by lifestyle changes alone - with the added benefit of staving off the host of other chronic illnesses that poor lifestyle choices ultimately lead to, including more and more often in kids as young as preteens.

Sleep
Exercise
Sun exposure/lightbox therapy in winter
Whole foods diet focused on phytonutrients especially omega 3s as in fish or walnuts
Cut out the sugar, cut out the UPFs
Meditation, breath work, yoga
Cognitive behavioral therapy

Any parent who truly cares about setting their kids up for lifelong mental health will take this approach before tossing pills down their throats

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take this with a grain of salt as I have two neurotypical teens.

If your daughter had a physical illness and all your home remedies weren't curing that physical illness, wouldn't your next step be to take her to the doctor and get a medication to alleviate the symptoms/make it better?

Couldn't the same be said of a mental illness such as anxiety? If your daughter was physically sick and no homeopathic treatments were working, it would be common sense to give her medicine. Why the hesitation when treating a mental illness?

Good luck.

Yes! this is what I was going to say. I have two young adults with anxiety and it has helped tremendously

But the OP hasn’t tried anything but therapy

What is your point, pp?

The point is an SSRI with a lot of side effects isn’t the first line of defense. Big pharm is over-medicating kids that just need better nutrition, sleep, and supplements. It takes 1-3 months, but it helps about 70% of kids/teens. Most parents just want the easy way out.

And many studies show that SSRI’s may actually INCREASE suicide tendencies in kids under 18. That is one of many side effects. Why risk that initially?

Would you say the same thing if their child is sick? My grandfather died due to lack of antibodics. Medication can work along with therapy etc.

Yes overuse of antibiotics has led to problems like MRSA and stunted immune systems.

Antibiotics are the last resort

EXACTLY!!

My DD went to a psychiatrist and was there for 25min before they were writing a script for Zoloft. Like it’s that easy? No thanks. Moved to a teen therapist, made recommended diet changes, added Magnesium, L Theanine, Vit D, EPA, Ashwa, Multi Vit and saw changes in a week.

That was 14 months ago.

Meds are needed for some, but not nearly as many that are on them.

Yeah who needs medical school and residency when you have Google!!! Everyone can be a doctor these days. Am I right???

The fact that you don't realize how much money big pharm makes in over-medicating people is laughable and they ties they have to physicians. Do you also realize how much doctors get off of taking on new drugs. getting trips, lunches, big nights out on the behalf of their marketing dept. oh and "consultations" too. But the most is cold hard CASH.

It's funny that you think changing diet and finding vitamin and mineral depletions and fixing them should not be the initial way. But a 25min script to get a high does SRRI for a 12yr old is the initial way to go. Because of a degree? LOL Most doctors are just as corrupt as politicians. They have to be because they make pennies off accepting insurance.

+1 think about oxycotin. Drs were pushing it needlessly.

The first poster is wrong because the rules governing pharma companies and doctors have really changed so she is telling outdated stories. But I do agree there is a ton of overprescribing - but mostly from laziness and ignorance not greed.

[Anonymous]

This thread gives me a whole different understanding of our record young adult overdose rate.

It is what comes of undertreated depression, anxiety and trauma—and of living among adults who are as combative and dysregulated and unable to get their adult pants on as people in this thread.

Jesus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finally it is worth noting that the same multinational corporations that own the subsidiaries that sell us poisoned processed foods also own subsidiaries that are comprised of pharmaceutical companies. Anyone who doesn’t get the connection between these entities is just not paying attention. CVS stopped selling cigarettes several years ago because they’re a health care company they proclaimed - but when you go there to pick up your pharmaceuticals, you have to walk past aisle after aisle of highly processed edible substances that are not actually food but rather food products. There is a massive difference between real food and food products. CVS and Walgreens and Walmart and all those places are UPF pushers - they have no moral qualms with selling the products that drive obesity and diabetes and chronic sleep deprivation and mental health disorders along with the pharmaceuticals that treat the symptoms but don’t cure anything.

There is no profit motive in curing lifestyle diseases.

There is very low profit motive in selling broccoli, et al.

Make the connection, people.

To me, you seem very zealous. Why do you care if someone takes 10mg of prozac. You sound just as controlling as the pharmaceuticals you despise. Medicine can help. Why make things more difficult?

I am very zealous. I spent 30 years taking SSRIs and SNRIs thrown at me by various physicians and psychiatrists and suffering the host of awful side effects including chronic insomnia that worsens mental illness and the weight gain that exacerbates anxiety/depression.

Never once in those 30 years did a single doctor ask me how I’d been sleeping, eating or exercising BEFORE I developed anxiety/depression, nor did they suggest I try exercise, light therapy, clean diet, meditation/breath work to manage anxiety depression - yet even in the 1990s there was already substantial research to suggest that mental illness could be greatly alleviated by these lifestyle changes to manage stress, and thirty years later the clinical and research evidence is overwhelming that the improvement from lifestyle changes used to manage anxiety and depression is equally effective and even more effective over the long term than taking pills that bring a host of very bad side effects which cause most patients to cycle on and off and on and off and suffer endlessly so big Pharma can make a buck.

There are hours of education on pharmaceuticals in medical school. There is not even a days worth of education on the critical ways proper nutrition impacts all aspects of our health from gut biome to brain resilience. Guess who underwrites substantial amounts of the research and education arms of universities that house medical schools?

Do I need to give you the answer, or can you work it out for yourself?

Yes, I’m very angry about three decades wasted on the hamster wheel of anxiety/depression medications. This is not schizophrenia or psychotic bipolar disorder, this is far too common anxiety and depression which is rooted in our lifestyles and can be put into effective remission by lifestyle changes alone - with the added benefit of staving off the host of other chronic illnesses that poor lifestyle choices ultimately lead to, including more and more often in kids as young as preteens.

Sleep
Exercise
Sun exposure/lightbox therapy in winter
Whole foods diet focused on phytonutrients especially omega 3s as in fish or walnuts
Cut out the sugar, cut out the UPFs
Meditation, breath work, yoga
Cognitive behavioral therapy

Any parent who truly cares about setting their kids up for lifelong mental health will take this approach before tossing pills down their throats

Hi PP. I am very sorry all of this happened to you. Two things:

- it appears the doctors who treated you over a 30 year period were more interested in prescribing pharmaceuticals, rather than your actual health, since they rarely seemed to ask about your actual health. Would you agree? And,

- following the widespread coverage of Obamacare years ago (and now the more recent lawsuits over opioid over-prescription), can we all agree Americans are over-prescribed all sorts of drugs, largely because the pharmaceutical industry seems to want to make a profit above all else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread gives me a whole different understanding of our record young adult overdose rate.

It is what comes of undertreated depression, anxiety and trauma—and of living among adults who are as combative and dysregulated and unable to get their adult pants on as people in this thread.

Jesus.

Drugs are over prescribed. We have a culture and now a generation of kids who are prescribed drugs starting from a young age. Why not try other things before going the drug route?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread gives me a whole different understanding of our record young adult overdose rate.

It is what comes of undertreated depression, anxiety and trauma—and of living among adults who are as combative and dysregulated and unable to get their adult pants on as people in this thread.

Jesus.

Drugs are over prescribed. We have a culture and now a generation of kids who are prescribed drugs starting from a young age. Why not try other things before going the drug route?

I think it’s another symptom of our instant gratification culture. Lifestyle changes can be difficult to implement and it takes discipline; why can’t I just pop a pill instead, right?